It’s mid-October, and someone in the office just got handed the holiday dinner. Twenty-two people, a budget line, and one request from the boss: not the conference room again.
Most holiday party venues on Long Island will tell you they “can accommodate groups.” That sentence doesn’t help you send a calendar invite. You need a room name, a headcount that fits it, a per-person number, and a picture of what the table looks like at 8:30 p.m.
Here is that information for The Refuge, the restaurant, bar, and event space on Route 110 in Melville: rooms, group menus, house rules, and the dessert stations that keep people around for one more round.
Holiday Party Venues on Long Island, Sized to the Group You Actually Have
The Refuge hosts private dining for groups from 8 guests up to 300 across the entire restaurant. The work is matching your headcount to the right space. A room that’s too big feels empty. A room that’s too small feels like a crowded elevator.
The Chef’s Table: one table, one team
The Chef’s Table is a private space for up to 11 guests on the holiday group menu, with a $150 room fee. It suits a leadership dinner, a small department, or a family that would rather not share the room with strangers.
The Bodega: 20 to 36 guests
The Bodega holds up to 36 guests, with a minimum guarantee of 20 and a $250 room fee for holiday group dining. For most office parties, this is the right size: the whole department fits, and it’s still a private room.
The Bar & Lounge and Main Dining Room: bigger nights
If your company would rather mingle than sit, The Refuge hosts cocktail parties for up to 100 guests. Your section of the bar and lounge is roped off and comes with your own staff. Bigger celebrations can spread across the restaurant, up to 300 guests. Ask about minimum guarantees for booking any space exclusively.
Group Menus: Family-Style Platters Built for Sharing
Parties of 10 or more are offered a prix fixe family-style menu. Platters go to the center of the table and everyone passes. The cooking is Latin and Italian, so nobody is stuck picking one of three plated entrées on a reply card.
The Refuge Standard Family Style: $71.95 per person
Starters are crispy calamari with arrabbiata sauce, Margherita pizza, and a meatball and mozzarella muffuletta, plus your choice of the Abuelita or Nonna salad. Then seafood paella, baked eggplant, and Chef John’s meatballs hit the table, plus one pasta and one chicken dish you pick for the group. Two sides come with it.
The Refuge Premium Family Style: $89.95 per person
Premium adds chopped baked clams and handmade mozzarella to the starters and puts grilled churrasco, marinated skirt steak with chimichurri, in the middle of the table. You also choose a chicken, a seafood (pan-seared salmon, pistachio-crusted mahi, shrimp oreganata, or paella), and a pasta.
Both include select beer, wine, sangria, soft beverages, and juices, priced plus tax and a 23% administrative fee. A package is required in the private rooms; in the main dining room, alcohol is optional. The catering team can also build a custom menu, and vegan options are available. See the full Holiday Group Dining menus before you call.
Holiday brunch for families
When the gathering is about the kids or the grandparents, brunch is easier on everyone. Family-style brunch runs Saturdays and Sundays with seating times between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., at $44.95 per adult and $27 per child, with a 10-adult minimum (plus tax and the administrative fee). Banana Nutella waffles, smoked salmon, a frittata, and a pasta all land on the table. Mimosas, bellinis, Bloody Marys, and sangria add $6 per person. More ideas: The Brunch That Becomes the Plan.
Dessert Stations That Turn Dinner Into an Event
A group dinner usually ends when the plates clear. A dessert station gives everyone a reason to stand up, walk over, and keep talking.
The holiday menu lets you add dessert platters for $65 each. For something people will photograph, The Refuge’s event add-on menu includes stations like these:
- Espresso Martini Bar: espresso martinis crafted to order, with bold espresso, premium spirits, and silky foam.
- Gelato Cart: four flavors of house-made gelato with an assortment of toppings.
- The Donut Shop: an interactive station where guests watch the donuts being made, then add their own glazes, drizzles, and toppings.
- Donut Wall: listed as an exit station, so the last thing guests grab on the way out is sweet.
- Roaming Cannoli & Tiramisu: cannoli piped to order and espresso-soaked tiramisu, served tableside.
Add-ons are priced separately. Ask the catering director which stations fit your date, room, and headcount.
How to Compare Long Island Restaurants With Private Party Rooms
If you’re building a shortlist of restaurants with private rooms on Long Island, Discover Long Island’s group dining directory is a fair place to start. Then ask every venue the same five questions:
- What is the room’s real capacity, and is there a minimum guarantee?
- Is there a room fee on top of the per-person price?
- What does the package include, and what costs extra (tax, service or administrative fees, card fees)?
- How long do we have the table?
- When is the final headcount due, and is the deposit refundable?
The Refuge prints its answers right on the holiday menu, so you can check them before you call.
The House Rules, So Nothing Surprises You
- Parties of 12 or more reserving between 5:00 and 9:30 p.m. are required to order from the prix fixe menu.
- Seating has a two-hour limit, and a reservation is held for 15 minutes past its time.
- Family-style tables seat a minimum of 10 people. Smaller tables are available for an additional fee.
- The final guest count is due 24 hours before the reservation, and deposits are non-refundable.
- A 3.5% transaction fee is added to credit card payments.
Fit the toast, the gift swap, and the group photo inside the two-hour window, and people leave while the night is still good. A set window helps the company too: the Society for Human Resource Management points to a party with defined hours as one way employers limit holiday-party risk.
Corporate Holiday Party Venues on Route 110
For offices along the Route 110 corridor, The Refuge is down the road, not across the Island. It customizes corporate events from after-work gatherings to a company-wide party, with audio-visual equipment available and service from breakfast and lunch through sit-down dinners.
SHRM also notes that many religions celebrate holidays in December, so pick a date with the whole team in mind. For more ideas on a work event that feels like a night out, read The Corporate Event That Doesn’t Feel Like One.
Book Your Holiday Group Dinner at The Refuge
Thursday through Sunday evenings from late November through December are usually the most requested holiday event dates on Long Island, and they go first. Pick your room, pick your menu, and pick the one dessert station your group will talk about in January.
Then call The Refuge’s catering director at 631.577.4444, or open the Holiday Group Dining page to see the menus and submit the large party form. Planning a smaller private dinner? Use the request form on the private dining page.
Holiday Group Dining FAQ
How many guests can The Refuge host for a holiday party?
The Refuge offers private dining for groups from 8 guests up to 300 across the entire restaurant. For holiday group dining, the Chef’s Table holds up to 11 guests and the Bodega holds 20 to 36. Cocktail parties of up to 100 guests get a roped-off section of the bar and lounge with their own staff.
What are private rooms in restaurants called?
Usually a private dining room, and sometimes a chef’s table or party room. At The Refuge, the two private rooms are the Chef’s Table and the Bodega.
How much does a private room cost for holiday group dining?
On the holiday menu, the Chef’s Table has a $150 room fee and the Bodega has a $250 room fee with a 20-guest minimum. A family-style package is required in the private rooms: the Standard at $71.95 or the Premium at $89.95 per person, plus tax and a 23% administrative fee.
Does The Refuge offer dessert stations for holiday parties?
Yes. You can add dessert platters for $65 each, and the event add-on menu includes stations such as an Espresso Martini Bar, a Gelato Cart, The Donut Shop, a Donut Wall, and Roaming Cannoli & Tiramisu. Ask the catering director which stations fit your date and room.
Are there restaurants with private rooms in Suffolk County?
Yes. The Refuge is at 515 Broadhollow Road on Route 110 in Melville, in Suffolk County near the Nassau County line, with the Chef’s Table and the Bodega available for private groups.